"The Fast Diet"

The Fast Diet:  Have you heard of this weight loss plan?  I hesitate to call it a diet because I'm not sure if it's something you could continue forever.  However it may help get off the extra weight while also practicing a healthy diet for life.  I saw it on ABC the other night:

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http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

Basically it goes like this:  They say you can eat, "whatever you want," five days a week.  The other two days you cut your calories to 25% of your daily recommended intake.  If you don't binge the other five days you end up cutting an average of  21.4% per day.  For a 2000 calorie diet you'd be cutting about 428 calories per day or  3000 calories per week.  In theory, a person can lose about a pound a week that way.
I looked this up on WebMD too, you can check out thier article on the safety and effectiveness of fasting diets.
Fasting has been around for a long time, for medical and religious reasons.  Here's the Wikipedia article on fasting.  This 'diet' is probably better described as caloric restriction,Wikipedia has a great article..  There are many proven and suspected health benefits of responsible caloric restriction.  Weight loss is an obvious one, but also improved cardiovascular health, and memory.  The Cons of continued caloric restriction are mostly the results of losing too much weight, or becoming obsessive about food.
 I worked at a natural food store for a while, so I heard about fasting and detoxing regularly.  I even tried a cleanse once.  It was a complete turn-around from the way I had been eating, and I knew half as much about nutrition as I know now.  I just followed the menu my roommate gave me.  It was awful.  I ate nothing but raw fruits, veggies, a few nuts, and a little olive oil for three days.  That much fiber meant that for the first two days I had to stay close to a bathroom.  The next step would have been a liquid only diet for a few more days.  I never made it that far.  It was just too much for my body to take.  I felt completely run down, actually sick, and I was craving carbs and protein in a bad way.  I gradually started eating normal again after that, and it took a few days to recover.  I know now what I did wrong.  For one thing I was eating really bad and drinking too much, on a regular basis, and for another the diet just didn't give me the right balance of nutrients my body needed.  I listen a lot more closely to my body these days.

I decided to try the 5:2 plan for myself...or rather to research and experiment with it.  I tried one day aiming for 500 calories....Here are my posts on MyFitnessPal :

• 
  ElizabethOak Have you guys heard about the 5:2 fasting diet? 500 calories, two days a week, eat normally rest of the days....the science looks good and fasting has been around. I'm gonna see if I can even do 500 today....might buy the book.

  • ElizabethOak Well today also happened to be the day my dear husband finally decided to work out again...this is getting complicated
  • ElizabethOak Ok, I survived. I'm hungry. But there's food in my guts. Cutting 1500 calories was only a little harder than cutting 500. I'm sure the exercise helped since I could eat and still get a super low net intake, plus it distracts from the hunger. On the forefront of my mind: I get to eat sensibly tomorrow.]

  That's it, typos and all, for the day I ate a Net 235 calories.  Now, I also worked out pretty hard that day.  The working out really helped ease the hunger.  Since I actually took in 1078 calories, it is hard to call that a fast, but at the end of the day MyFitnessPal gave me a warning that cutting too many calories is dangerous.  I have to say I've never enjoyed broccoli stalks as much as I did the one I ate while preparing dinner that night.  I usually throw that to the dogs, but I ate it like, well, a hungry dog.  
The next morning, that is this morning as I am typing tonight, I wrote this:
[This morning I feel nothing short of inspired. Waking up I watched as my thoughts came together from the muddled cloud of my dreams and the puzzle of my reality fell into place.  Sitting drinking coffee I meditated on the dangers of the flood of information we see everyday.  The idea that there is nothing we [can] truly believe that we did not experience first hand.  I imagined the internet as the great connectedness that is the closest thing to speaking to the universe that has been invented in human history.  Even as the words pour out I can see them as the ramblings straight from the depths of my brain.  There are little mistakes I'm making in grammer spelling, and typing effeciency.  It's a very odd feeling, somewhat akin to being high yet still being connected to reality. 
As I type this I am also frying turkey sausage and eggs for breakfast.  I am excited to eat again well again, but I am very intrigued by the way I feel now.  I have more research and testing to do before I endorse this diet, but so far I think the pros outweigh the cons.]  -All that was written with a head free and light.  It's several hours later now, and the best way to describe the change after eating normally is that I have been weighed back down to a safe and grounded position.  Compared to overeating the difference is awesome.  Overeating gives me a serotonin spike but a stuffed and heavy body, under-eating allowed me to feel lightened up physically and mentally.  It certainly isn't for everyday, but it was a new experience for me.]
What I wild ride.  Tonight, just like the lady in the video, I see that my appetite just wasn't what it was a couple days ago.   I'm still thinking about buying the book, but I can only recommend that you do your own research, talk to your doctor, and listen to your body.
Please keep in mind that the Fast Diet is potentially dangerous, as they say, 'Always consult your doctor.'